68 Battle for the First String (1/2)

After killing Ignis, Yuel focused all his efforts on pushing the lane. A new minion wave soon arrived and to help him invade the Golem.

He failed to finish the Golem before Ignis returned, but he brought it down to 40% HP. That's a huge lead when combined with his already existing advantages of level, gold, and minions. Even the number one Grandmaster in the world should struggle to climb out of this position.

Still, given Ignis's skill, anything could happen. At least, if she played as strongly as before...

”You pesky *hic*! I mean, kid!” Ignis charged at Yuel as soon as she returned. ”I'mma *hic* you this time!!”

[Frontal assault? Seriously?] Yuel frowned. Did she really think she could just go on the offensive despite all his advantages? Frankly, it looked like throwing a tantrum.

But, that's no reason to let his guard down. Yuel fired bolts while retreating to the backline. Thanks to his attack range advantage, he could combine offense and defense into one play. Truly, he every possible advantage at this point.

Alas, things were never that easy with Ignis. She side-stepped the first shot without slowing down and swung her blade at the second shot.

”Think you can *hic* the Great Ignis with these lame shots? Ha!” Ignis parried the second shot... at least, that's what'd normally happen. However, her blade failed to make contact. The bolt hit her.

[That's a first.] Yuel followed up with another shot. It hit Ignis before she recovered from her swing.

”Oh, now you've done it! You've soooooo done it!” Ignis ranted through gritted teeth. ”I'mma kick yo *hic*! Just you- Aya!” Another bolt hit her. Ignis wasn't moving much while ranting, so Yuel just shot her without waiting. ”You little runt! Now the Great Ignis is REALLY mad!”

[And seems like that's exactly what I want.] Yuel smiled intently. That slow reaction and poor coordination, she was finally playing like a drunk. Becoming salty must have thrown her off her game, so her automatic professional responses stopped kicking-in.

The harder Yuel pressures Ignis, the faster she'll fall apart. Therefore, he didn't let up for a single moment. One shot after another without rest. Eventually, Ignis's HP ran so low that, even in this unstable state, she understood she had to retreat.

[So, what if I do this?] Yuel switched gears without warning and rolled forward.

”Wha!? Whatcha think ya doing!?”

[Winning.] As soon as he recovered from the roll, Yuel sent his wolf forth. If he could just pin her down again, he'll get another-

”Tooooooo bad! Haha!” Ignis dodged the assault with Fearless Charge. Even with her reduced reaction speed, she was still leagues above Yuel. It was a naive attack, but it delivered the message: if Ignis doesn't retreat, Yuel will pounce at her until he gets a kill.

”I swear I'mma mop the *hic* with ya when I return!” Ignis shoved her finger into Yuel's face while recalling to base.

[Good luck with that.] Yuel proceeded to push the undefended lane. Step by step, he was approaching victory. Ignis was losing it, so this game should be in the bag now.

By time Ignis recovered and returned from the base, her Golem was already at 20% HP. Just one more little push and Yuel will take it down, along with the whole game.

”Don'tcha think you won yet!” Ignis rushed at him again and yet again, her defense was lacking.

[This is getting risky.] Yuel glanced at his HP. Even though Ignis's assaults ended in failure, she usually managed to land a few hits before being forced to retreat. Slowly but surely, she was grinding Yuel out of HP. I

With Yuel now at 60% HP, Ignis could cut off his escape with Swordwhril and then score a kill. No, wait. She won't do it because Yuel will assuredly score at least one critical hit in this exchange and will out-damage her thanks to Morning Star increasing his crit chance with every attack. So, with that in mind-

”Gotcha!” Ignis charged forward and spun her blade through him! No time to think!

[Five hits plus a crit is like six hits, so that should work out, right!?] With Yuel's snail speed reaction, he had no choice but trust his rough estimation. His Blink was still on cooldown, so fighting back was his only option.

Yuel fired and Ignis sliced. He shot again and she slashed. A shot for a slice, a slash for a bolt. It was a race to the death!

”Nuuuuuu! Flippin' crit!” Ignis smacked her own forehead. She realized her miscalculation too late.

『You have killed an enemy!』

With this, the match was pretty much settled. Yuel took down the Golem, which spawned super minions from his side. He also took the time to clear buff camps, further boosting his overwhelming advantage. Before long, he invaded all the way into Ignis's base.

The Colossus of the 1v1 mode was much weaker than the one in 5v5. On top of that, Yuel was effectively a Carry, so his DPS with basic attacks was nothing to sneeze at. Together with his super minions, Yuel made a quick work of the Colossus. Only 30% HP left to finish this game!

”Nuuuuuuu! Stahp!” Ignis rolled on the sofa, jumped around, shook Yuel's shoulders and did everything in her power to interfere. There was nothing for her to do until she respawns, so she did everything in her power to slow Yuel down. That's some the mature tactic right there.

But, it was useless. The Colossus was already at 10%, so Ignis won't be able to achieve anything even if she to revives now.

[It's over. I wo-]”Agh!” Yuel jumped after something slammed his face! In real life! What the-!?

”Don't wanna!” Ignis flailed her arms and tossed sofa pillows. Right into Yuel's face.

”Stop tha- ack!” Headshot! Critical hit! The pillow smashed right into his nose! Goddammit, seriously!? It was both hilarious and sad at the same time. Ignis was supposed to be the adult here, but she was acting like a five-year-old. Even though she were drunk, that didn't excuse this childish behavior... or maybe it did? Yuel obviously had no experience with being drunk, so hard to say.

Either way, he must wrap up this game. He ignored the barrage of pillows and focused on taking down the Colossus. Despite the interference, he successfully finished the job.

『VICTORY』

He did it! He beat a pro! ... a pro who was drunk, five levels below him, partially underestimated him and let him counter-pick her. But even so, it was a win! Yeah!

Still, if Ignis were to take him more seriously from the get-go and wasn't so drunk, she probably would have torn him apart despite all the other advantages he had. Just how strong was she in her top form? Gulp.

This was a great experience, aside from the pillow missiles at the end there. Yuel got a lot of insight into how Ignis played the game. How she waited for the right moment to strike, how she dodged and parried his shots and so on. There was much he could learn from just playing her.

Did Howard get to play his sister every day? So lucky. No wonder he was such a strong defensive player. He must have learned to defend so well in order to stay alive against Ignis. If only somebody in Yuel's family was a pro player... sigh.

”No fair! Hax!” Ignis pouted. ”One more! I'mma *hic *ya this time!”

”Sis,” Howard leaned toward her. ”It's already late. He needs to-”

”OOOOONE MORE!”

”... alright,” Howard sighed he turned to Yuel. ”Will you?”

”Sure.” Yuel nodded. This was a rare chance to play against a pro, so Yuel wouldn't miss it for the world. He'd stay up all night to keep playing Ignis.

”C'mon then!” A confident grin returned to Ignis's face. ”Let's go! I'mma show you how real players get things done!”

They started the third match. Ignis should still be salty from losing the previous round, so it'll hamper her performance... or not. Despite her rowdy behavior, she apparently regained her composure during the short break.

Not good. Yuel had to stick Ranger because of the ”house rules”, so Ignis countered him with ease. The third game easily went to her. Yuel barely landed a single hit.

However, next game Yuel countered her back and got another win, though it was a close game. Whenever he managed to throw Ignis off her game, that made her slip and opened the road to victory. That was his secret weapon against her.

The fifth match went to Ignis, and so did the sixth. Cornering her Viking proved harder than Yuel thought. This was some serious challenge.